E-commerce at one level competes with traditional retail (Flipkart as an online book shop has definitely given many book outlets a run for their money) and at the other level drives footfall to the retail stores (all of us read/heard of the Groupon’s role in driving traffic to the GAP outlet in United States) and acts as an Internet marketing channel for retail.  Hinging on this overriding role of ecommerce is the new breed of web platforms in India that are coming up in group buying and discount-focussed buying.

This is a guest column by Shamit Bagchi.

My current team is a startup team of self motivated members. These are my friends who are good at their own roles such as a technology expert, a financial expert who has vast experience with startups and is quite senior, one person who is very active in several student volunteer activities, another who is an artist himself, then another who runs his own startup and finally someone who is very interested in marketing and marketing strategy.

‘What do I believe in’ is the starting point - for myself to remain motivated and create energy in the team and not depend on energy. As co-founder of our venture I have the constant task of aligning the vision and bringing this diverse team with complementary skills on to the same page. The cultural entrepreneurship (fine arts) venture which we plan to diversify stems from my passion for the arts. So the right kind of communication plus the interests that the venture can serve to each of the members of the team is going to be crucial. Some have short term some longer terms interests in the venture.

This is a guest article by Advit Sahdev, Founder of the Online Digital Marketing Agency ODigMa. They specialize in social media marketing in India with special focus on Facebook business communities. Read more about Advit here.

Here are 3 real life situations - Tell me what would you do in each of them

1 - You are going to a movie when you notice that your neighbour has locked his door from outside and left the key inside. Would you just ignore him or would you get him in your house, make him feel comfortable, help him and then leave?

Many small business owners search for cheap easy ways to reach their target audience or customers. One small business idea which we pay very little attention to is e-mail. For starters it’s as economical as you can get but it’s got a lot of possibilities.

Why should you use E-Mail Marketing?

You get to remind old customers that you still exist, you get to pitch your wares to new ones and you can mass mail all of them at a single click once you have a group mailer set up. Also everyone has an email id and most check their inbox every day… However just because it’s easy does not mean there are no guidelines to follow.